Spitting Image has delivered a typically waspish response after Deadline revealed this week that it had been served with a lawsuit by the owners of Paddington Bear.
Avalon’s YouTube puppet sketch show roasted “Studio C Anal” (better known as StudioCanal), with Paddington wiping his derrière with the legal filing and declaring: “Your writ, my s**t.”
It follows the claimants, including StudioCanal and Michael Bond’s estate, filing a High Court complaint against Avalon, citing copyright and design right concerns.
The filing did not reveal the particulars of the claim, but came months after The Rest is Bulls*!t, a sketch from Spitting Image, the BAFTA and Emmy-winning British puppet show.
The Rest is Bulls*!t features an intentionally shonky imitation of Paddington co-hosting a podcast with Prince Harry that sends up Goalhanger shows like The Rest Is Entertainment.
Speaking to Radio Times, the co-creators of the YouTube series, Al Murray and Matt Forde, said they were “baffled” by the lawsuit. ‘If we were going to expect anything, it would be a hard stare from Paddington,” Murray joked.
Despite railing against the legal proceedings, Spitting Image has changed Paddington’s appearance from previous episodes. Gone is the signature red hat and duffle coat, with Paddington immediately looking more like he has emerged from a cocaine lab.
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